Across formats India doesn't have the wherewithal to win

India won a thriller last evening against South Africa in their final Super Eight clash of the World T20, but unfortunately it wasn't enough to take them into the semifinals.

Cricket commentator Ayaz Memon feels that although it was a "good win", not being in the semis is going to hurt India.

"It has been a barren 12 months for us. We were whitewashed against England, lost to Australia, didn't make it to the Asia Cup finals and now failed to make the semis at the World T20. It shows across formats India doesn't have the wherewithal or the depth to get to the latter stages of a tournament and this is going to hurt," he told Firstpost.

Renowned cricket writer Ayaz Memon feels that although it was a "good win" over South Africa, not being in the semis is going to hurt India. PTI

Memon feels Dhoni's excuses of blaming extraneous factors like the rain for India's losses is "deflecting the issue".

"I'm not blaming Dhoni alone for India's debacle but Pathan getting an extra over early in innings and getting hammered and then Rohit going for 12-13 runs loosened India's grip on the game. We should've tried spinners. In fact, not getting an extra spinner in hindsight was a mistake," Memon added.

On Team India's fitness woes, Memon didn't mince words, saying: "We are perhaps the most unfit team in the world."

"Unfit not just in fielding but we are conceding 15-odd runs in every match which is a lot in T20. Sehwag and Zaheer are not in prime fitness. Why just oldies even R Ashwin is a slow coach on the field," added Memon.

On media reports saying that coach Duncan Fletcher was upset with the team's fitness, Memon said Fletcher has woken up "a little too late."

"He has been around for a year now since the ODI World Cup. Not much has been done to ensure a bunch of players who are so highly paid are supremely fit," said Memon.

Finally, on his assessment of the four semifinalists and his picks for the final, Memon reckoned it will be a Sri Lanka vs Australia final.

Watch our video show SportsTalk to know why Ayaz Menon thinks so and also his views on Mahela Jayawardene's captaincy switch act.